A Demon Lord’s Memory and a Midnight Encounter

“It smells so good~” Tears welled in Freya’s eyes, her hand resting on her flushed cheek as a blissful smile bloomed on her face. “I can’t believe lamb can be this delicious.” Она murmured.

“The Green Village mountain goat, though its meat is tender, possesses a strong gamey odor. It requires a generous amount of seasoning to remove that distinct smell,” Old Jenny explained, stirring the fragrant lamb stew. The rich aroma wafted enticingly from the pot. “Eat more if you like it.”

“Mmm~” Freya purred, her eyes half-closed in delight.

“Mmm your head!” Rolan picked up a steaming piece of lamb, blew on it a few times, then popped it into his mouth. As he chewed vigorously, he shot a disdainful look at the little Demon Lord. “Who was it who said they’d rather jump off a cliff than eat a single bite of lamb?”

“No idea~” The ‘certain someone’ cheekily stuck out her tongue. “Who could that be?”

“The person currently relishing my mother’s lamb, that’s who.” Rolan deliberately aimed his disdainful gaze at her face, exaggerating the expression with a dramatic twitch of his eyebrows.

“Mmm… alright, alright,” Freya conceded, shrugging her shoulders. She cast a profound, almost affectionate glance at the lamb stew in the pot.

“Dear sheep, I have witnessed your sacrifice. I will take good care of your bodies, and I implore you to forgive my husband for the sins he has committed against you. Now, rest peacefully within my belly.” With that, she resumed eating.

‘Husband?’

Rolan’s eyelid twitched.

The little Demon Lord uttered that word now without a hint of hesitation.

He recalled the last time he’d made her say it; her face had practically turned green with embarrassment.

‘Tsk, it seems she truly has lost her memory.’

Rolan narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the way she ate.

They had been traveling for almost ten hours since leaving Green Village, pulling their trailer the entire time. Now, the sky was utterly dark.

Exhausted beyond measure, the group had decided not to continue with the main caravan. Instead, they found a suitable spot to rest and began preparing their meal.

Ahead lay a dense network of wagon tracks, with many villagers still toiling onward. Behind them, lush forests obscured the path they had taken.

At this moment, Rolan stood amidst a profound sense of uncertainty. He knew not how much further they had to go, and his former home was now utterly out of sight.

The flames crackled, their lively red glow illuminating Rolan’s sweat-streaked face. No one could tell what thoughts occupied his mind at that moment.

“We were so anxious that we rushed out of the village, following everyone else. Have you decided where you’re going?” Old Jenny asked, holding her bowl and blowing on the scalding soup. “I only heard Village Chief Roan say that terrible monsters are approaching from the west, along with some kind of contagious disease.”

After testing the temperature once more and finding it suitable, she drained the rich, savory broth in one gulp.

“Everyone is heading east, so we should eventually converge on Mondstadt,” Rolan replied, adding more branches to the bonfire to maintain its heat.

The crackling flames danced, their reddish glow casting a warm light upon Old Jenny’s face, highlighting her benevolent wrinkles.

“Mondstadt, what a grand city it is…” Old Jenny’s eyes filled with reminiscence. “I went there a long, long time ago…”

Rolan seemed to recall something and was about to speak, but he was interrupted by ‘someone.’

“Mondstadt?” Freya licked her glistening lips, blinking as she asked, “Are there lots of delicious things to eat there?”

“Hehe, quite a lot,” Old Jenny chuckled, spooning another helping of lamb head soup into her bowl. Then, she picked up a lamb leg, offering it to the insatiably greedy Freya. “Not only are there delicious foods, but the city also boasts a famous institution: the Grey Academy of Magic.”

“A magic academy? Wow, does that mean I can learn magic?” Freya’s eyes widened, recalling Rolan’s previous words. She wiped away a trace of drool. “How can I enroll?”

“Hmm? Don’t you already know magic?” Old Jenny frowned, a puzzled expression on her face. “I remember you…”

‘Oh no, she’s about to expose me!’

“Cough, cough, cough!” Rolan suddenly coughed loudly, abruptly interrupting their conversation. “No, no, it’s *I* who wants to learn magic!”

“You?” Old Jenny’s body trembled slightly. She asked, her expression suddenly tense, “Why do you want to learn?”

“No particular reason, I just felt like it.”

‘No particular reason,’ he thought. ‘It’s just that if I hadn’t said that, I would have been exposed in front of this little Demon Lord. If she were to remember the magic she once knew, that girl would become utterly restless by my side again.’

“I want to learn too…” Freya murmured softly.

“What she means is,” Rolan quickly covered her mouth, hurrying to explain, “she wants to attend school!”

‘It’s the same thing, wanting to go to school, wanting to learn magic.’

Old Jenny’s smile was strained, her hand holding the bowl trembling slightly. “There’s no need. Our lives are quite good as they are; there’s no need to learn magic.”

“Ah, is that so…” Rolan assumed a helpless expression. “In that case, it seems I’ll just have to—Aow! Ouch! Ouch!”

Freya opened her mouth and bit down hard on Rolan’s palm, not releasing him for a long moment. Her delicate nose was slightly wrinkled, and her eyes held a resentful glare, making her appear extremely angry.

“Why did you bite me?! Are you a dog?” Rolan exclaimed, wincing as he looked at the string of red marks and shook his hand.

“Hmph—” Freya snorted, disdaining to explain herself. She tossed her head, stood up, and abandoned the half-eaten lamb leg. “I’m not eating anymore!”

As if in a huff, she strode off in a random direction.

“Where are you going?” Rolan asked, frowning.

“Can’t I go to the bathroom?!” Freya’s voice was laced with pique. “Don’t follow me!”

Watching the little Demon Lord’s figure vanish behind the thicket, Rolan’s face registered his exasperation, and he shrugged.

How peculiar. This little Demon Lord was actually acting like a petty young girl, a behavior utterly unimaginable from her before.

Perhaps she was so angry because he had just interrupted her and prevented her from speaking.

He raised his palm, examining the neat row of red marks, still glistening with a faint trace of saliva.

He found himself smiling, perhaps amused by such childish behavior.

‘It didn’t really hurt that much. She was just getting a little revenge by biting me. But couldn’t she have chosen a different method? Biting my palm… it’s truly like a girl would do…’

‘Then again, she *is* a girl now.’

‘A Demon Lord who lost her memories…’

For some reason, Rolan’s gaze fell upon the lamb leg Freya had left unfinished. He hesitated for a moment, then, after confirming she was truly out of sight, he quietly picked it up. Finding a suitable spot, he took a bite, savoring the taste.

‘Familiar magic…’

****

“Stupid Rolan!” Freya grumbled, wiping herself clean and pouting. “He won’t let me ask any questions! What’s his problem?!”

She stood up, vowing inwardly that she would find an opportunity to give him a piece of her mind later.

‘Honestly, he shouldn’t think he can push me around just because I’m his ‘wife’.’

‘It’s *me* who wants to learn magic, alright? What business is it of his?’

‘That guy already knows how to use all sorts of magic. Not only does he refuse to teach me, but he also forbids me from learning myself.’

‘It’s truly outrageous! Does he take me for a mere pretty face?’

The more she thought, the angrier she became. Freya extended her leg and kicked a nearby tree.

“Ah… ow, ow, ow—” She cried out in pain, clutching her shin as tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

‘I was so furious, but why did I instinctively do that?’

‘Did I used to vent my anger like this? It feels like a bodily instinct…’

“Hark…”

A strange sound echoed from the distance. Freya, still rubbing the outer side of her aching shin, turned her head to look.

“Hark, hark…”

A blurry red figure emerged from behind the thicket, emitting a low, eerie sound.

“What is that?” Without a moment’s thought, she picked up a stone and hurled it.

The stone flew true, striking the creature’s head.

“Hark—”

This action seemed to infuriate the creature. A crimson glow flared, and the dense thicket before it was shredded to pieces by a pair of sharp claws.

Just then, moonlight pierced through the clouds, allowing Freya a clear view of the approaching entity.

It was a monster, entirely crimson, with a powerfully built physique. It possessed a humanoid form, yet its eyes were deeply sunken, its limbs long and slender, its fingertips sharp, and its gaping maw terrifying.

Its human-like hands seemed to be equipped with Cat Demon claws, boasting long, blood-red digits; these were the very claws that had just torn through the thicket. Now, upon seeing a living being, the monster grew intensely agitated, exuding the terrifying aura of a predator.

“Eh… no way…” Freya stumbled backward in fright, her limbs turning to jelly as she collapsed to the ground. Her face looked as if she was about to burst into tears. “You, you, you… I, I, I’m so sorry… I shouldn’t have hit you…”

“Hark—” The monster roared excitedly, saliva slowly beginning to drip from its mouth. Its expression was one of ravenous hunger, a blatant desire to devour life.

Seeing its blood-stained fangs and eerily elongated teeth, Freya thought, ‘This can’t be the monster that attacked Green Village, can it?’

“Help—” She summoned her courage, stood up, and, suppressing her trembling, prepared to flee.

However, the monster was faster. With a sudden movement, its body, like that of a cheetah, appeared directly before her.

Granting her no further time to react, the monster’s sharp claws seized her by both shoulders.

“Ah…” For some inexplicable reason, the monster’s claws didn’t tear her clothes, but they held her in an iron grip. “It hurts…”

The monster, too, noticed this strange phenomenon. However, its brain, corrupted as it was, couldn’t process much thought. With another roar, it opened its gaping, blood-red maw and lunged towards Freya’s neck.

In Freya’s eyes, the reflection of ever-approaching terror grew larger.

Slash—